New Lawsuit Filed Over Michael Jackson 'Hologram' Show

Pulse Evolution, which produced Jackson's performance at last month's Billboard Music Awards, files a $10M lawsuit against Alki David who claimed the company violated his patent rights.

Prior to the 2014 Billboard Music Awards last month, Hologram USA attempted to halt Michael Jackson's "hologram" performance. Its owner Alki David claimed that the show would infringe patented hologram technology that he had exclusively licensed.

The performance happened as planned, but the problems behind it are apparently still far from over. According to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, Pulse Evolution, which worked with Billboard to produce the performance, has now filed a $10 million lawsuit against David.

In the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 19, the company calls David a "charlatan who had no involvement whatsoever in the development of the Michael Jackson animation."

Pulse also states in its complaint that David "falsely claimed credit for creating and developing the visual effects spectacle in a nationally-televised interview on CNN, in press releases and on his various websites operated by his company, FilmOn."

Additionally, Pulse denies that Jackson's appearance at the show was a hologram. "This mischaracterization of the [Michael Jackson] animation as a hologram highlights David's complete lack of technical expertise and involvement in the creation and development of the Michael Jackson Animation, insofar as the virtual Michael Jackson appearing at the Billboard Award Show was not a hologram at all, rather, it was an animation projected onto a screen," they say.

"This distinction is lost on David, because he is nothing more than a fraud claiming credit for Pulse Entertainment's animation," they add.